Why Elizabeth Mitchell Doesn't Think Lost Should Ever Return - Exclusive
Love it or loathe it, "Lost" was a cultural phenomenon that still resonates today. Fans and critics alike continue to talk about the polarizing series finale, even though it aired over a decade ago.
The cult-hit series followed the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 — led by Jack Shephard (Matthew Fox) — who crash-landed on a supernatural tropical island that is inhabited by mysterious entities: a shape-shifting "Smoke Monster," a hostile group of inhabitants known as "The Others," and an abandoned research station used by fringe scientists dubbed the Dharma Initiative, where controversial experiments were conducted. One of those remaining scientists was Dr. Juliet Burke, played by Elizabeth Mitchell, who went from distrusted "Other" to beloved ally of the Oceanic survivors.
For six seasons, "Lost" captivated and confused audiences — and the 2010 finale was no different. The conclusion showed Jack dying and reuniting with the other characters in the afterlife, where they had to reconnect in order to "move on." For many viewers, it was an unsatisfying ending. But for Mitchell, it was the perfect resolution to a game-changing series, as she explained in an exclusive interview with Looper.
Mitchell thinks Lost ended in an untouchably 'beautiful way'
Over the years since "Lost" ended, numerous rumors about a reboot or revival have surfaced. But it's all been speculation and wishful thinking up to this point. Still, in a day and age where remakes are all the rage, you never know what might happen. For Elizabeth Mitchell, it's a complicated subject.
"['Lost' creator] Damon [Lindelof] had once said — and he's on to something here — that if someone re-imagined it and brought back all the same characters as different people, it would be really interesting to see what would happen," she said. "That would be intriguing to me. I'm always up for working with any of those people again. I think they're fantastic, but ... it's so hard to imagine any of these people getting back together again."
Overall, though, Mitchell falls on the side of leaving well enough alone. "I love that they told the story that they wanted to tell," she says. "You end your thing in the time that you want, and you create what you want, and they did that. It's hard to imagine them coming back and saying, 'Well, we could do this.' I don't know. It's always intriguing to think of what creative minds will come up with, but for me, it ended in a beautiful way."
As for Mitchell's more recent roles, you can watch her in Season 1 of CBS' "FBI: International" and the upcoming Netflix series "First Kill," which premieres June 10.